My sbitx basic kit arrived today and works perfectly (sbitx #77 is on the air as I type). I'm keeping it under 10w for now until I replace the voltage regulator, but so far so good.?
The linux admin in me wants very desperately to run an apt update/upgrade on this, but I wanted to make sure first that the currently sbitx software isn't relying on the specific versions of anything that were pre-installed on the sdcard that was shipped with it. Is it expected that we would maintain these as any other raspberry pi and perform that update?
My intention is to have this connected to the internet and remotely accessible so I would want to apply security/bug patches from the apt repositories regularly.?
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Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6
I believe it was an ARRL award, but it was long enough ago that it was probably one of the first FT8 WAS awards. Did the rules change? (I don't follow those things.)
Jack, W8TEE
On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 09:25:33 PM EDT, david todd via groups.io <ac9xh@...> wrote:
I agree with all of you. I personally practice listening to 30 and 35 wpm practice sessions so its easier to copy 25 wpm qsos. But i never try to transmit faster than i copy.I find he hasnt been having 1000s of contacts,but oh well. guess he wants the robot touch.I have asked when he is on the air ,and tried to do a rag chew session with him but after i exchange certain things in the qso, its" tnx qso 73" and its me , his friend for quite awhile. arrrrgh.I told him, when you get off the computer and get real, let me know and we will go as slow as you want and have a real qso
Ive told him all this but with no headway. Curious ,Jack how did the club member get past the awards committee with ft8 instead of CW for WAS? That would be very irritating.Was this an internal club award or ARRL award? just curious.
73 David ac9xh
On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 08:05:19 PM EDT, Tom Sevart <tmsevart@...> wrote:
Frankly I believe that one should never send CW faster than they can
copy.? I don't know what he intends to do if the decoder malfunctions or
his computer freezes up.? Or try to copy the other station when their
signal is weak enough or conditions too noisy to get a good decode.
--
Tom Sevart N2UHC
St. Paul, KS
-- Jack, W8TEE
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Thanks Ashhar.
Any suggestion of a link where to buy it? Where is it located in the main sbitx board?
Btw, this radio is a dream! I really like the way you used the 2 LR channels of the audio codec!
Rafael
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 8/17/22 03:15, Ashhar Farhan wrote: Rafael,
I would suggest installing a switching regulator before you pump up to such high levels.
The transistors need to run cool.
On Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:27 AM Rafael Diniz <rafael@...> wrote:
Hi everybody,
Got impressed that the wattmeter showed peaks of 66W on CW on 40m
band!
Yay!
That is correct, right?
Thanks,
Rafael
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Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6
I agree with all of you. I personally practice listening to 30 and 35 wpm practice sessions so its easier to copy 25 wpm qsos. But i never try to transmit faster than i copy.I find he hasnt been having 1000s of contacts,but oh well. guess he wants the robot touch.I have asked when he is on the air ,and tried to do a rag chew session with him but after i exchange certain things in the qso, its" tnx qso 73" and its me , his friend for quite awhile. arrrrgh.I told him, when you get off the computer and get real, let me know and we will go as slow as you want and have a real qso
Ive told him all this but with no headway. Curious ,Jack how did the club member get past the awards committee with ft8 instead of CW for WAS? That would be very irritating.Was this an internal club award or ARRL award? just curious.
73 David ac9xh
On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 08:05:19 PM EDT, Tom Sevart <tmsevart@...> wrote:
Frankly I believe that one should never send CW faster than they can
copy.? I don't know what he intends to do if the decoder malfunctions or
his computer freezes up.? Or try to copy the other station when their
signal is weak enough or conditions too noisy to get a good decode.
--
Tom Sevart N2UHC
St. Paul, KS
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Re: File /3.2 & 3.5 for Nextion and CEC 1.095/ubitx_35D7.HMI uploaded
#file-notice
any chance of finding the file for a 5 inch display for? CDC load?
vince
n2aie
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Re: #sbitx - an ugprade kit is on the way
#sBitx
Thanks,..
looking forward to receiving my kit.
vince
n2aie
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I'd be more concerned than impressed - that seems way too high, given the components used.
Ken, N2VIP
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Aug 16, 2022, at 19:57, Rafael Diniz <rafael@...> wrote:
Hi everybody,
Got impressed that the wattmeter showed peaks of 66W on CW on 40m band! Yay!
That is correct, right?
Thanks,
Rafael
|
Rafael, I would suggest installing a switching regulator before you pump up to such high levels. The transistors need to run cool.
On Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:27 AM Rafael Diniz < rafael@...> wrote: Hi everybody,
Got impressed that the wattmeter showed peaks of 66W on CW on 40m band!
Yay!
That is correct, right?
Thanks,
Rafael
|
Max, Keven Loughin, KB9RLW, did a Youtube video, "Ham Radio - The doublet vs EFHW noise rejection cmparison."? where he shows the effects his and his neighbors inverters have on reception. He lives in a RV and has converted just about everything in his RV to run off 12V and seldom runs his inverter.
--
Jerry, AC9NM ÊÖÖеÄÄñÔÚ¹àľ´ÔÖÐÖµÁ½¸ö
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Re: Funtronics uBitx digi interface installation in V6
Frankly I believe that one should never send CW faster than they can copy. I don't know what he intends to do if the decoder malfunctions or his computer freezes up. Or try to copy the other station when their signal is weak enough or conditions too noisy to get a good decode.
--
Tom Sevart N2UHC
St. Paul, KS
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Re: DAYLIGHT RADIO - PLASTIC TOROID MASTER
I do not see a problem. As long as we are gentle when winding the coils and add shielding per Ashhar¡¯s instructions for the filters, we can just use minimal ¡®fill¡¯ for a nearly hollow PLA toroid form, right? Or maybe I missed something (it would not be the first time)?
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Hi everybody,
Got impressed that the wattmeter showed peaks of 66W on CW on 40m band! Yay!
That is correct, right?
Thanks,
Rafael
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Re: Sbitx finals replacement
Farhan
No progress today. I guess I will wait for the upgrade kit. I have built and fixed several Ubitx rigs but this issue has me stumped.?
Anyway once it get it going again I will enjoy this one as much.?
Art
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Aug 15, 2022, at 14:26, olson339@... wrote:
? So my problem I suspect is in the transmit section of the Sbitx. I got out the schematic and measured dc voltage on the source and gate of Q9 IRF4905. They are both the same 13.79 volts. So perhaps the PAs I bought are suspect. My thought is that when q10 turns on to allow Q9 to switch something is still grounded at the PAs. ? If someone here has their open I would like to get a voltage reading off Q9 and the PAs. ? ? Art N2AJO If I am not learning I am not having fun ? ? From: olson339@... <olson339@...>
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2022 12:33 PM
To: 'Art Olson' <olson339@...>
Subject: RE: [BITX20] Sbitx finals replacement ? Farhan ? Ok I got my amp meter out rather then look at the one on the power supply Initial power up .603 amps Sbitx operating in receive .0709 Call CQ via FT8 no sudden spike current drops to zero and then after bootup back to .603. ? I am going to try another rpi ¨C not sure it that make a difference. Will let you know ? Art
N2AJO ? ? Farhan The Sbitx draws about 2 amps the shuts down N2AJO? ?Farhan Will check current and get back to you.? Screen doesn¡¯t go weird. It just goes blank.? Yes it reboots as if power is reapplied I have the basic kit - minus lcd and rpi Art ? Art,? 4 questions. can you monitor the current at shutdown? Does the screen go weird before it shuts down?? Does it try rebooting or does it just goes inti a shutdown? Are you using the full kit ? ? On Mon, Aug 15, 2022, 2:23 AM Art N2AJO <olson339@...> wrote: Farhan ? Ok have installed a LM2596 and preadjusted it for 5.4 before I installed it. I still have the same problem with the Sbitx shutdown within 1 or 2 seconds, reboots with the main display screen again.? tT receives great but can¡¯t transmit at all. Not sure what is next top look at. When I first? got it and ran FT8 I got about a 6 to 7 second output and then it shutdown ¨C blown regulator and finals. ? art ? ? I had this problem with fake LM338s. Most of them are simply relabelled LM317 that give up on current peaks. We, unfortunately, wiped the LM338s cleab from Mouser for our own production. The switching regulators that I mentioned in a earlier email work best. - f On Sun, Aug 14, 2022, 2:15 AM Art N2AJO <olson339@...> wrote: back again. Replaced the LM338 and the 2-IRFZ24N finals. checked to ensure the final and the LM338 tabs to ensure no ground connectivity and in contact with the heat sink. Measured the DC voltage of the LM388 tab 5,4 volts. Final tabs 13.8 volts. Put it all back together and receive works fine. Tried FT8 and within a second or 2 the rig shuts down and reboots. I also updated the firmware. So any suggestions on what next to check.?
I did order the voltage regulator Farhan suggested awaiting their arrival.
Art
N2AJO
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Re: #sbitx sn 0071 is alive!
#sBitx
Steve, You might want to telnet to port 7000 of the rpi while sbitx is running. This an easter egg yet, I am not sure if I should produce a telnet remote or a web/http based remote facility.? It only shows the console output yet. The source code is at?
Thanks Steve!
Farhan;
You
have created an amazing radio. I love that the radio has the ability
to recompile it's own software. I love that the code is open-source,
so that changes can easily be made to add features, and tailor the
radio to behave exactly the way I want it to.
I've
enabled SSH so that I can remotely log into my radio from a laptop
and do things from the command line, while sitting on my sofa in
another room watching the news. I've installed XRDP so that I can
remotely log into the desktop from my laptop and run the sBitx
software remotely. I haven't gotten sound working via RDP yet; that's
a bit more complex from a linux host. For
now I¡¯m using a bluetooth transmitter plugged into the headphone
jack. The Rpi has bluetooth built-in, but the sbitx app is not set up
to route audio to the BT device. Will have to investigate that
option....
The
sBitx should really appeal to those who are comfortable with
computers, and like to experiment with software vs solder and wire.
This radio has really been a blast - and is also a great way to learn
more about DSP algorithms and linux in general.
73;
Steve, N3SB
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To track down the hum and spurs, I had a trick. I use a spectrum analyzer with its input connected to the DC power line through a 0.1uf capacitor. The important thing is that the RF cable between the Specan and the radio should be connected grounded properly at the radio end with a BNC connector, its ground tab directly soldered to the ground plane. This is an important detail. - f
On Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:11 AM JerryP < jponko@...> wrote: Scott,
I think you're probably good to go at this point. Extra bypass filtering on the output never hurts. In the olden days of HAM radio, 60/50Hz hum was the big problem with power HV power supplies.
If your scope has Math functions you could use the FFT math function to look at the 200kHz signal and its harmonics. Otherwise, an AM radio would work to see if there are harmonics being generated around 600kHz- 700kHz and 1000kHz-1750kHz. Just tune across the AM band and see if you pick up something then turn the buck converter off to see if it's the source.
Hi Jerry,
Ok, I see.? That makes sense.? It looks like there is very little real energy in the above 200kHz range (if any).? The only other thing I have tried was a cap on the output.? The larger the output cap, +1000uF, the overall ripple reduces.? I probably need to build a filter for the output and make some tests.? Can't do anything else.? DigiKey is late.
I've only got an oscilloscope to work with and I've not installed the converter in the radio just yet.? I'm not exactly sure how to look for harmonics without an analyzer.? Can you suggest another way to look?
? ?
Thanks again, Scott
--
Jerry, AC9NM ÊÖÖеÄÄñÔÚ¹àľ´ÔÖÐÖµÁ½¸ö
|
Scott,
I think you're probably good to go at this point. Extra bypass filtering on the output never hurts. In the olden days of HAM radio, 60/50Hz hum was the big problem with power HV power supplies.
If your scope has Math functions you could use the FFT math function to look at the 200kHz signal and its harmonics. Otherwise, an AM radio would work to see if there are harmonics being generated around 600kHz- 700kHz and 1000kHz-1750kHz. Just tune across the AM band and see if you pick up something then turn the buck converter off to see if it's the source.
Hi Jerry,
Ok, I see.? That makes sense.? It looks like there is very little real energy in the above 200kHz range (if any).? The only other thing I have tried was a cap on the output.? The larger the output cap, +1000uF, the overall ripple reduces.? I probably need to build a filter for the output and make some tests.? Can't do anything else.? DigiKey is late.
I've only got an oscilloscope to work with and I've not installed the converter in the radio just yet.? I'm not exactly sure how to look for harmonics without an analyzer.? Can you suggest another way to look?
? ?
Thanks again, Scott
--
Jerry, AC9NM ÊÖÖеÄÄñÔÚ¹àľ´ÔÖÐÖµÁ½¸ö
|
Re: DAYLIGHT RADIO - PLASTIC TOROID MASTER
David, I did a bit of experimental work on this. The toroids need more than 15 turns or so for the self-shielding to work well. At fewer turns, the shielding though better than that of a conventional inductor, wasn't good enough to be used in a bandpass filter. In the Daylight radio, I had to add shielding between the three sections. - f
Yes, understood.? Just thought I would let it be known that it is
not the core that shields a toroid.? It is inherent in its shape.?
Physics.? :-)
On 8/16/22 9:49 AM, Ashhar Farhan via
wrote:
David,
Shielding is not the issue. Losses are. Lower Q
leads to higher losses. The Q is determined by the material
inside the toroid. Air/Vacuum is the best material with least
losses for an inductor, whether a solenoid or a toroid.
Toriodal inductors are inherently shielded by their
geometry, no matter what the core material is, air, ferrite
or other.
73,
David N1HAC
On 8/15/22 8:24 PM, Ashhar Farhan via
wrote:
David,
The inside of the toroid should be
hollow and it not hollow it should have as little
in-fill as possible. This is the key to high
performance 3D printed toroids. PLA or ABS are lossy
and they can lead to lossy filters.
- f
would not a simple tubing do the same?? .. the
"shielding" of a coil wound on a ferrite core
comes from the core material ... so i guess a
normal pastic tubing will work equally well if not
better (fewer loss cause fewer plastic inside the
coil)
so ... what is the reason to print plastic
toroids??
dg9bfc sigi
Am 15.08.2022 um 23:50 schrieb David R. Hassall
WA5DJJ:
Dear group,
I asked a friend of mine to build a master
toroid stl file that we can put in our 3D
printer software and come up with the plastic
toroids almost any size we want.?? The Master
was built on the basic size of 1 inch in
diameter with a height of 1/2 inch and a
thickness of? 0.2 inches.?? I use the CURA
program to build my 3D printer files and it will
allow me to scale all three axes once the basic
25mm toroid.stl file is loaded into the
software.? It also allows you to print almost
any number of a basic design in one printing.??
Here are some examples that I printed this
morning:
![toroid pic]()
I just used the scaling values of 25%, 50%, 75%
and 100% to get the different sized plastic
toroids pictured above.? So with the master stl
file anyone with a 3D printer should be able to
print almost any size plastic toroid form that
you would need.?? I have attached the master stl
file to this Message and it should enable anyone
with a 3D printer to make the plastic Toroids
that they need for the Daylight Radio Project.
Take care and have fun.
73 Dave WA5DJJ
SUPER QRSS GRABBER
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Re: sBITX waiting for shipping details
Mark, Shipping is included in the price?
Mark,
How much was shipping on that kit?
On August 16, 2022 at 2:23 PM "Mark Earnest via " <mark=[email protected]> wrote:
Partial Kit #77 showed in Pittsburgh in 10 days from shipping notification.?
It was on the air in less than an hour.
This thing is sweet. I haven't replaced the voltage regulator yet but I have a dozen or so of them from Amazon and I'll probably replace the LM338 before trying anything more than 10 watts just to be safe (I want to enjoy this working before I take a soldering iron to it :)
?
|
If that RV had a solar panel on top, that could also be the source of the noise. Solar charge controllers are kinda like a variable switching power supply. Mine? causes interference all the way to 60 Mhz ! They are nasty. I would have thought that when the sun went down the noise would stop, but it doesn't change. I have to completely disconnect the controller to stop the noise.
Max
On Sunday, August 14, 2022, 03:04:00 AM CDT, Alan Cooper <cqw7aln@...> wrote:
my hope is that everyone is aware that there are active ham operational bands at 137khz and at 472khz - 479khz as well as comercial cw stations still using 500khz ?
I have often heard horrendous noise from RV users who have filthy spurs from their switcher power supplies/battery chargers from 100khz clear up through 14mhz!?!!
?but maybe i am the only one who has had these Reciever problems with "switcher" power supplies blanking out the radio.?
if I am out of line for mentioning these types of problems with switchers please ignore me...I am not wanting to cause trouble.
Alan w7aln
On Wed, Aug 10, 2022, 6:17 AM Ashhar Farhan < farhanbox@...> wrote: Neils, Many of these switching regulators have a 50 KHz switching frequency. This has images inside the passband of the audio codec. I arrived at LM338 only after experimenting with various switching systems (including building one from discrete components). These new generation of switchers move the frequency to 500 KHz. That's what makes them useful. - f
On Wed, Aug 10, 2022, 6:27 PM John Terrell < N6LN@...> wrote: The smallest ones have a small cheap potentiometer which I would not trust in the long run to maintain a stable output voltage. Some have a secondary means of choosing between four or five fixed voltage levels and bypassing the fickle potentiometer by cutting a pcb trace with a hobby knife. Loupes help. But in any case a buffer capacitor ought to reduce a noisy output p.
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Re: #sbitx sn 0071 is alive!
#sBitx
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Farhan;
You
have created an amazing radio. I love that the radio has the ability
to recompile it's own software. I love that the code is open-source,
so that changes can easily be made to add features, and tailor the
radio to behave exactly the way I want it to.
I've
enabled SSH so that I can remotely log into my radio from a laptop
and do things from the command line, while sitting on my sofa in
another room watching the news. I've installed XRDP so that I can
remotely log into the desktop from my laptop and run the sBitx
software remotely. I haven't gotten sound working via RDP yet; that's
a bit more complex from a linux host. For
now I¡¯m using a bluetooth transmitter plugged into the headphone
jack. The Rpi has bluetooth built-in, but the sbitx app is not set up
to route audio to the BT device. Will have to investigate that
option....
The
sBitx should really appeal to those who are comfortable with
computers, and like to experiment with software vs solder and wire.
This radio has really been a blast - and is also a great way to learn
more about DSP algorithms and linux in general.
73;
Steve, N3SB
|
Vince N2AIE
JerryP
Craig Wadsworth